


To Be

by Kaoru_chibimaster



Series: FF7 Omegaverse Week [5]
Category: Final Fantasy VII (Video Game 1997)
Genre: Aerith Gainsborough Lives, Alpha Aerith Gainsborough, Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, F/F, Fluff, Minor Zack Fair/Cloud Strife, Omega Tifa Lockhart, zack lives too but it's only mentioned
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-05
Updated: 2020-06-05
Packaged: 2021-03-04 06:54:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,399
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24559483
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kaoru_chibimaster/pseuds/Kaoru_chibimaster
Summary: A history lesson on Cetra courting, courtesy of Aerith. How cute…
Relationships: Aerith Gainsborough/Tifa Lockhart
Series: FF7 Omegaverse Week [5]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1769554
Comments: 6
Kudos: 91
Collections: ff7omegaverseweek





	To Be

**Author's Note:**

> Very canon divergent. Think Aerith lived and Holy worked so Midgar wasn’t destroyed and Sector 7 was rebuilt.

“You know,” Aerith started, wiggling her eyebrows playfully. She couldn’t quite hold the expression without a crack in it. There was a quirk of her lips that transformed into a full-blown smile before Tifa could blink.

It was ridiculously adorable, but then Aerith pulled off charming to a T.

“Know what?” Tifa chuckled.

“Cetra used to court their omegas by strutting around in robes stitched with flower petals.”

“That’s gotta be a lie,” Tifa snickered, raising an eyebrow at the coy smirk Aerith gave.

“Nuh-uh. Granted, they weren’t made entirely out of flower petals. But there were _a lot_ of flowers involved.”

“Good thing you’re the local florist then, huh?”

“Oh, but there’s more to it than that!” Aerith continued, pointer finger up as if she were about to dive into a lesson. Tifa settled down at one of her tables with an amused smile and decided to humor her. The bar had been quiet today—it was something of a holiday celebrating the continued survival of the planet following Meteorfall, and people were staying home today with plans to start the partying tomorrow—and Tifa had the luxury of closing early to spend some time with her girlfriend.

Her very enthusiastic about Ancient culture and traditions girlfriend.

“Tell me.”

“There used to be dowries of rare, natural materia found in caves for the omega’s family. The sort that adventurers and warriors journeyed for weeks to get.”

“Kinda like we did?” Tifa hummed pleasantly, thinking back on those memories fondly. There was enough good mixed into the bad that she could still consider their chase after Sephiroth with a bit of nostalgia. It’d only happened a year ago, but still.

She could close her eyes and imagine all the new and amazing sights they saw out there. Her initial trip to Midgar when she was fifteen had been draped in a somber mood and she hadn’t paid her surroundings much mind; too wrapped up the death of her father, the destruction of her village, and the burning injury across her stomach that she’d been lucky to live through. Her teacher, Zangan, had wrapped her up and doused her in potions until her extremities had started to feel numb, and after a while, she didn’t have the mind or the focus necessary to even process what was happening outside.

Their first step beyond the wall a year ago had been like a fresh start for Tifa. The first time she really got to see the “outside world”.

It was like that for a lot of them, having all gotten used to steel walls and mako.

Oh, but she was getting distracted.

“A little like we did, but we mostly stumbled across those,” Aerith nodded contemplatively.

She had a point there. Tifa still couldn’t believe the amount of time Cloud had spent catching chocobos, growing attached to them and breeding them together until he ended up with one that could literally _walk on water_ , only to disappear over the ocean with Zack for a week (the “romantic getaway” the others had jokingly called it…until they realized it wasn’t a joke) and come back with a myth in physical form. ‘Knights of the Round’, Aerith had said the summon was named. A relic from her people’s time.

Apparently that had been stumbled across too, just like all their other oddly powerful materia found in caves.

“It’s a wonder we didn’t find more, as easily distracted as we were.” Tifa couldn’t help but punctuate her statement with an amused snort. They really spent a lot of time stalling under the guise of “preparation”. Granted, Sephiroth had been so powerful that they’d needed every bit of that help they’d gotten, but still. The time leading up to that confrontation had been _very_ busy with detours and out-of-the-way battles.

“Well, a lot of them were kept with Cetran families after they were gifted, so it’s no wonder…”

She…had a point there.

“So they gifted powerful materia to the families of their potential mates, and then…? Didn’t they do something for the actual mates?”

“That they did!” Aerith nodded enthusiastically, leaning against the table with bright eyes and an excited smile. “There used to be a dance involved. It’d be very personal, just the two of them. They’d gather around a fire, late in the evening, and press their wrists together. Like this.”

Aerith reached out then, gently grabbing Tifa’s hand and pulling it to hers, pressing the scent glands at their wrists together snugly. It sent a very pleasant tingle over the skin of Tifa’s arm that she could feel a flush gathering over her cheeks at.

And then Aerith stood. Tifa followed the movement without a second thought.

“They’d dance in a slow circle, like this…”

The two of them moved from the table, standing in the empty floor in front of the entrance before Aerith started guiding them in that slow circle. Steps even and steady in tempo, dancing to a tune no one could hear. Except perhaps Aerith. With her eyes closed and that tiny, knowing smile on her lips, Tifa had to wonder if maybe she _was_ hearing an ancient song. A relic from the voices of the planet itself.

She kept her pace with it, completing two full circles before pulling Tifa towards her until they were flush against each other.

“And look each other in the eyes…”

Tifa _was_ looking. They were the same familiar, calm green that she’d grown used to. The same she fell in love with, over and over again each time they caught hers. So much life shined in them, carefree and strong despite everything she’d been through.

“Familiarize with each other’s scent…”

As if on command, Tifa inhaled and found her senses alighted with Aerith’s alluring alpha scent. Something reminiscent of trees swaying in the breeze, a glade of bright green grass, and flowers. So many flowers. A field of them, each with a different fragrance that mixed into something sweet and comforting. Something that smelt like home.

It wasn’t typical for alphas to smell sweet, but somehow it fit Aerith perfectly. Tifa was lost in it as Aerith drew closer.

“And then…?” she asked, voice quiet and small as a brush of lips against hers registered in her mind.

“And then, the omega got to decide.”

“Decide what?”

Breaths mingling now, the atmosphere was heavier as the two became wrapped in their own little world. Pretense was dropped as Tifa felt an arm wrapping around her and a hand sliding against her cheek, pushing her hair behind her ear.

“Whether they wanted to show their neck.”

_Oh_.

How did that sound so… _suggestive_? These days it was so cut and dry, the discussion of mating bites. The courting rituals of Ancients sounded more passionate somehow. More personal. For it to be left up to the omega, for them to decide whether the effort the alpha put in was worth it. They staked everything on that single moment, the end of the dance.

It almost got to Tifa too. Before she could even register what she was doing, her head started to tilt up.

“Of course, this is all ancient history,” Aerith giggled, breaking the spell with a light kiss pressed to Tifa’s scent gland. Still bare as Tifa waited for the right moment to offer. She knew she wanted Aerith to bite her, but she’d gotten so used to their routine that she was a little scared to step out of it. There were a lot of new feelings involved with mating to someone. It was a bit intimidating.

“That’s a shame. It’s a pretty enchanting way to get a mate,” Tifa sighed, letting her head drop back down. This time Aerith pressed a kiss to her lips, full and sweet and lingering. Enough so that Tifa could still feel it even after they pulled apart.

“Yeah, well… They also traded chocobos and had two alphas who wanted the same omega fight to the death in old colosseums, so the dance was just about the only romantic part.”

Breaking into laughter, Tifa finally pulled away entirely and sat back down in her spot. This time, Aerith sat next to her instead of across.

“So, was there any reason for the impromptu history lesson?”

Aerith gave an easy shrug and a satisfied smile.

“To charm a kiss out of you.”

How unsurprising.


End file.
